My husband spotted this book prior to Christmas and I bought it for him as a gift. I had an ulterior motive in buying it...I wanted to look at this gorgeous book myself. As I've looked at work done by Audobon in conjunction with other authors and photographers, I knew they did excellent work not only in photography, artwork, but also in writing about birds.

My husband is a nature photographer, on the local search and rescue team, a Scoutmaster, and an avid hiker. All of this makes him very interested in birds. He always had a few of the books used by birders to spot birds, but they were hardly very useful (I looked through a few myself occasionally trying to spot a species that I had seen). This book covers so much more than those other books, and the visuals are breathtaking.

I currently have a hard time getting a chance to look at the book as my husband is poring over it, and reading the whole thing which is unusual for him. He isn't a reader like I am. So this is a good thing.

Not having a coffee table, I was never interested in the big books for putting in our living room, but I think we will be getting a small table now. This book will most definitely be residing there from now on!

A great book for so many reasons, for so many people. Highly recommended.

Karen Sadler

I received this book for Christmas, and it is without a doubt, my favorite present. The scope of information presented is absolutely amazing. Birds from the entire world are summarized, along with details on migration habits, habitats, and mating. Information about each bird featured is rather brief, but this is really a visual guide (hence the title), so if you are looking for very detailed information on certain birds, your best bet would be to find a book specializing in that family of bird. The pictures are the real draw here; they are brilliant, vivid, and inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, nature, and fantastic photography.